PIP guideline update, May 2014

Jill

A quick update for you.

First, thanks for pointing this out, the guidance is new and significant. We're looking at how we can update the guides with relevant advice and hope to have something by the end of the week.

I'm limited in what I can say until the new guide is available but two things stand out from my having looked at this during the afternoon.

First you refer to your son being able to plan a route, 13(d) is concerned with the following of the route and not the planning, I think it perfectly reasonable that someone capable of doing the planning may still not be able to execute it because of their extreme agoraphobia or social phobia.

Secondly the guidance refers to prompting, this is defined in the guidance as

reminding, encouraging or explaining by another person

Is this sufficient to assuage the problems your son would have when going out, for example, if he had a panic attack, would someone reminding him that there is nothing to worry about, prompting him to continue, or explaining that there is no threat, be sufficient for him to deal with the attack and continue. If you feel that this is not the case, then you can argue that the presence of someone only offering prompting is insufficient and therefore should not be considered.

Gordon

Jill

Strictly speaking the goal posts have not been moved as the law, the PIP Descriptors, have not been changed, only the guidance associated with them has, a Tribunal is not bound by this only the law.

The dilemma that we all have is that PIP is to new a benefit for any Case Law to have been created and it is likely that some is needed in area such as this, however, in its absence you are entitled to argue your case to a Lower Tier Tribunal which may decide in your favour.

The first thing to consider is whether the existing Care award is secure, if you believe it to be so then, at least in principle, you have nothing to lose by going ahead with one.

Please have a think about the points I raised in my previous post, Nothing you have posted to date makes me think that your son does not meet the requirements for 13(d), even in the light of this change of guidance.

Gordon

Jill wrote: This is just to update you about what we have decided to do. Thanks to your invaluable update about planning and following a journey we formulated an appeal and have sent it today.

As soon as we hear anything I'll let you know. I hope it is a positive outcome otherwise the mobility component of PIP will be very unfair to those with mental health issues.

Many thanks for all of your hard work and advice.

We have updated the PIP guide with some additional guidance on this Descriptor and there are some related documents in the PIP section.

www.benefitsandwork.co.uk/help-for-claimants/pip

Gordon